Leonardo Begins the Mona Lisa
A small portrait built from soft edges and gradations becomes the most famous painting alive
Quick facts
- Artist
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Medium
- Oil on poplar panel
- Sitter
- Believed to be Lisa Gherardini
- Now in
- Musee du Louvre, Paris
What happened
Around 1503 to 1506, Leonardo da Vinci began work on a portrait, on a poplar wood panel, of a woman later identified with Lisa Gherardini, wife of the Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo, though the sitter's identity has long been debated. Leonardo used his sfumato technique, blending tones and edges so gradually that no hard outline separates forms, and captured the sitter turning naturally toward the viewer while employing aerial perspective, a softening of color and detail in the distant scenery behind her, to suggest atmospheric depth. He kept the painting with him for the rest of his life rather than delivering it to a patron, and it entered the French royal collection after his death in France in 1519.
Why it matters
The Mona Lisa's sfumato technique and psychological presence influenced painters across Europe almost immediately, and it has since become the single most visited and reproduced portrait in the world, now displayed at the Louvre behind protective glass.
How we know
The painting has belonged to the French royal collection and then the Louvre since Leonardo's death, and the Louvre's own published history of the work, along with the World History Encyclopedia's account of Leonardo's technique, describes its dating, sitter, and painterly method from that continuous provenance.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Leonardo da Vinci · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Musee du Louvre. From the 'Mona Lisa' to 'The Wedding Feast at Cana' · Reputable sourcelouvre.fr · The domain "louvre.fr" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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